This is one of the recognized, but less common poses of Garuda. Kneeling and with his hands in Anjali mudra, he is adoring his Lord, Vishnu. More common is standing Garuda. This Garuda is made using Ganga Jamuna technique. For an example of standing Ganga Jamuna, please see an earlier post.

Garuda is normally shown with two arms. (Now I have to check whether he is ever portrayed with more than two arms. Some fun). The beaky nose, the wings and the serpent in front of his left knee reinforce the identification.

The crown and the ornaments show his semi-divinity status. Interesting to see the way his wings are depicted, almost as an extension of epaulets. The multilayered pedestal is an interesting feature. Another interesting feature is the color, almost brick red and quite different from what you normally see.

As far as we know Gangal Jamuna bronzes were produced for a relatively short period of time, for about a century, and that too in a small region, North Karnataka. Given that it is amazing to see the iconographic variations.

This Vigraha is about 9 cm in height and it is from North Karnataka. It may be dated to the early nineteenth century.